# Compositional Structures as Substrates for Human-AI Co-creation Environment: A Design Approach and A Case Study

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.04103 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04103/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 6 Mar 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [StoryEnsemble: Enabling Dynamic Exploration & Iteration in the Design Process with AI and Forward-Backward Propagation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.03182/) (2025)
- [Vidmento: Creating Video Stories Through Context-Aware Expansion With Generative Video](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.22013/) (2026)
- [A Text-Native Interface for Generative Video Authoring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.09072/) (2026)
- [Semantic Prompting: Agentic Incremental Narrative Refinement through Spatial Semantic Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.19971/) (2026)
- [Creativity from Friction: Human-AI Interaction for Exploratory Structural Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.07521/) (2026)
- [MOONWALK: Mediating Operations with Intent-Evidence-Action Alignment Across Junior-Supervisor Review Workflows in Animation/VFX Pre-Production](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.10385/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

It has been increasingly recognized that effective human-AI co-creation requires more than prompts and results, but an environment with empowering structures that facilitate exploration, planning, iteration, as well as control and inspection of AI generation. Yet, a concrete design approach to such an environment has not been established. Our literature analysis highlights that compositional structures-which organize and visualize individual elements into meaningful wholes-are highly effective in granting creators control over the essential aspects of their content. However, efficiently aggregating and connecting these structures to support the full creation process remains challenging. Therefore, we propose a design approach of leveraging compositional structures as the substrates and infusing AI within and across these structures to enable a controlled and fluid creation process. We evaluate this approach through a case study of developing a video co-creation environment using this approach. User evaluation shows that such an environment allowed users to stay oriented in their creation activity, remain aware and in control of AI's generation, and enable flexible human-AI collaborative workflows.